Coupler



Patented Mar. 3, 1942 COUPLER Frank S. Barks, St. Louis, and Alexander P.-Fox,

University City, Mo., assignors to Lincoln Engineering Company, St. Louis, Mo., a corporation of Missouri Application April 5, 1939, Serial No. 266,146

1 Claim.

The present invention relates to certain new and usefulimprovements in couplers for greaseguns, and it relates more particularly to multijawed hydraulic chuck type couplers of the general type disclosed in Patent-No. 2,040,177. The coupler of the present invention is adapted particularly for coupling onto or for quick detachable connection with round-headed lubricantreceiving fittings or so-called nipples of the kind shown in Figure 2 of Patent No. 2,010,174

having a generally hemispherical outer contactsurface beneath which an annular groove is formed into which the jaws of the coupler are adapted to engage for interlocking mechanical connection with the fitting.

One of the objects of the present invention is to provide a multi-jawed hydraulic chuck type coupler which may be more readily assembled and whose parts may be more readily replaced, and which will be more durable and serviceable in actual use. 7

With the above and other objects in view, the present invention consists of certain novel features of construction, including a generally cylindrical housing, in which the hydraulic piston is adapted to travel, and to which the lubricant tional' view of a multi-jawed hydraulic chuck type coupler embodying the present invention.

Figure 2- represents a si ilar cross sectional view of another embodirr of the present invention.

Figure 3 represents a similar cross sectional view of still another embodimentof the present invention.

Figure 4 represents a similar cross sectional.

view of still a further embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 5 represents a similar cross sectional view showing another embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 6 representsa similar cross sectional view of still another embodiment. of the present invention, partly broken away.

Figure 7 represents another cross-sectional ,view of a still further and modified embodiment of the present invention, partly broken away.

Figure 8.represents a typical elevational view of any of the couplers of Figures 1 m7, with the cap-like nose piece or front housing portion removed.

Figure 9 represents a cross-sectional view (with the rear end broken away) of another form conducting hose may be directly connected, and

a camming cap member or nose piece threadedly secured to said cylindrical body or housing and projecting beyond said housing just sufliciently to present the camming surface or inclined wedging surface to the gripping jaw; the latter being carried in the main cylindrical body or housing portion, at least to a suiiicient extent to permit assembly therein before the application of the cap or nose piece.

The present invention further consists of other novel details and features of construction, all of which will appear more fully from the following detailed description and accompanying drawings.

For the purpose of illustrating the invention, there is shown in the accompanying drawings forms thereof which are at present preferred, since the same have been found in practice to give satisfactory and reliable results, although it is to be understood that the various instrumentallties of which the invention consists can be variously arranged and organized and that the invention is not limited to the precise arrangement and organization of the instrumentalities as herein shown and-described.

In the accompanying drawings, in which like reference characters indicate like parts,

Figure 1 represents a longitudinalcross secof coupler construction.

According to the present invention, the main body portion or housing of the coupler is a generally tubular formation having a cylindrical bore ll therein, of a length sufilcient to house not only the piston assembly designated generally by the numeral l2, but also to house the inner ends of the jaws l3.

The interior of the housing may be narrowed or reduced ininternal diameter as at H and 15, to form a valve seat It, against which a ball or other similar check valve I1 is adapted to rest.

Beyond the restricted portions, the housing is screw-threaded as at I8, either internally as shown in Figure 1 or externally, to receive the screw-threaded terminal fitting of a hose or other conduit through which the lubricant or grease is to be conveyed from the pump or socalled grease-gun to the'coupler.

The piston assembly designated generally by the numeral l2 may be composed of a central annular composition member I9, formed of an oilresistant composition such as synthetic rubber, or

of leather, cow hide or thelike, with sufliclent resiliency, so that when compressed axially between the two metallic washers 20 and 2|, it will tend to increase its outer diameter and to decrease its inner diameter so that it will fit snugly and in fluid-tight relation to the inner bore ll of housof th tubular sealing plunger 22 which passes through the .annular sealing member l9. The annular member I9 is maintained in sliding relation to the cylindrical bore ll of the housing l and also in sliding relation to the outer diameter of the tubular sealing plunger 22.

The tubular sealing plunger 22 is a metallic member, preferably slightly enlarged at its rear end as at 23, so that it may not pass the washer 2|. The sealing'plunger 22 is preferably formed of steel, and provided at its outer end with a concavely spherical sealing surface 24 of -a radius corresponding to the radius of the spherical head portion of the lubricant-receiving fitting with which it is intended to be used (see Figure 2 of Patent No. 2,010,174). Thus, the concave spherical sealing surface 24 is adapted to form a balland-socket type contact with the end of the spherically headed lubricant-receiving fitting, so

that the couplermay be angled with respect to the lubricant-receiving fitting or nipple within suitable limits. .Thus, when the coupler is tilted at an angle to the fitting, the concavely spherical sealing surface 24 of the sealing plunger 22 will continue to make a sealing contact with the spherical-ended fitting or nipple.

Three or more jaw members |3 are provided surrounding the sealing plunger 22', and with their inner ends projecting into the cylindricalbore I screw threaded into the screw threaded end I8,

of the main housing or body ID. The outer ends 25 of the jaws l3 are turned inwardly or formed inwardly into claw-like gripping members which are adapted to project into the annular groove beneath the head of the fitting or nipple (see Figure 2 of Patent No.2,0l0,174) or which may engage beneath the head of any headed lubricant-receiving fitting or nipple." The outer claws 25 of the jaws l3 form a generally continuous circle, separated only by short gaps 26, of

- an extent just sufficient for ordinary manufacturing clearances or tolerances. The jaws l3 and their outer claw portions 25'are of generally equal circumferential extent. In the embodiments here shown, three jaws are used and this number has been found preferable, although more than three can also be used.

The gripping surface or surfaces 21 of the claws 26 are preferably slightly inclined, so that the grip of the coupler on the fitting can be broken entirely by angling the coupler to a suf ficient degree so that one of the jaws will release its grip on the shoulder formed beneath the head of the fitting.

' The jaws are also provided with an outer. in-

clined surface 28, by means of which they are given their inward radial motion by a similarly inclined camming surface 29 on the interior of the cap or nose piece 39, which is screw threadedly securedto the end of the housing III as at 3 I.

A compression spring 32 serves constantly to urge the piston assembly l2 as well as the jaws I3 into a forward position or in a forward direction, while a spring 33 is interposed between the sealing plunger 22 and the ball check valve H, to seat thecheck valve and also to urge the sealing plunger 22 in a forward direction.

' To apply the coupler to the fitting or nipple,"

it is merely necessary to push the coupler onto the fitting in a generally longitudinal direction indicated by the arrow 34, eitherin a true axial alignment with the fitting or at an'angle thereto 2,274,651 ing l0 and against the outer cylindrical surface piston assembly l2, against the force of the spring 32, until the claws 25 of said jaws are opened up to 'a diameter suflicient to permit the fitting head to pass between the claws. The sealing plunger 22,-

and more particularly the concave spherical surface 24 thereof, then contacts the convex spherical sealing surface of the fitting and is pushed back slightly against the force of the spring 33 until the claws 25 engage the shoulder beneath the head of the fitting.

A substantial seal may be maintained with angularity as much as fifteen to twenty degrees ofl axial alignment between coupler and fitting. At a greater angularity, however, the seal is broken and the coupler is thus detached;

In the embodiment of the invention shown in Figure 2,-the sealing plunger 22 is screw threaded at its inner end 35, and is provided with an annular nut-like member 36, which serves to confine the sealing member |9'. In this embodiment also, the plunger is provided with a shoulder 31 against which the washer 291s adapted to rest.-

In the embodiment shown in Figure 2, but a single spring 4| is employed and a spring 33 and a ball check valve H are omitted. In this embodiment, however, an adapter or.nozzle 59 is of the body In, with its conical tip 38 forming a seal against the edge 39 of the constricted opening l5. The adapter or nozzle 59 is in turn provided with either an external or an internal thread, as for instance that indicated at 40, to which the hose leading from the grease-gun or pump may be screw-threadedly connected, or whereby it may be directly connected to a rigid conduit on the pump or grease-gun. The nozzle or adapter 59 is adapted to receive other couplers or nozzles or connector members, as for instance that shown in-Figure 8 of Patent No. 1,966,278, or the conical tip' 38-(after the coupler has been removed therefrom) may be used directly by pressing it against the inlet holes of fittings having larger inlet holes, that is, having inlet holes sufficiently large to permit the entry of the conical tip 38.

In the embodiment of the inventionshown in Figure 2, the spring 4| servesto urge the metallic sealing plunger 22 forwardly. When the jaws l3 are forced inwardly by the head of the fitting to an extent sufiicient to take up the clearance '42 between the nut-like member 36 and the sealing member I9, then the spring 4| also acts upon the sealing member. 9 and (through it) upon the jaws l3; tending to push them forward.

In the embodiment of the invention shown in Figure 3, a check valve I1 is provided similar to that shown in Figure 1 but with the valve closing spring 43 retained by a spring retainer cage 44 screw-threadedly secured in the housing at 45.

A small by-pass or bleeder hole 46 may also be provided in the housing to by-pass around the check valve IT in any of the embodiments'of the" 'Figure 4 the sealing plunger designated generally by the numeral 22-0 is formed of two parts, namely, the'rear portion 41 and forward or contact portion 48 preferably united by a press fit or otherwise securely fastened to each other, and with a ball check'valve 49 seated against the constricted valve seat 50 formed in the rear end of the part 41 and urged by a valve closingspring The rear, end of 41 is shown peened without clearance between I9, 26 and 2|. In the embodiment of the invention shown in Figure 5, an adapter 59 similar tothat shown in- Figure 2 is provided but having a shoulder 53 formed therein, against which the conical termi- ."I he valve 58 is preferably drilled laterally as at 6| to permit the freer passage of lubricant when the valve is open. The member 55 is again screwthreaded as. at 62 either internally as indicated housingmem ber I 0, .in such a. way that 'if the nose piece 30 which is attached to and becomes a continuation of the body or housing In is re- 1 moved, the jaw members l3 will be held in place at their bases so that these jaw members-may be replaced and re-assembled more conveniently and without resort to any special assemblingoperations or assembling tools. In coupler constructions heretofore in use, the division between the front part of the coupler body which carries the jaw-operating cam or wedging surface 19 and the rear part of the coupler body to which the lubricant delivery hose of conduit was connected, was made at apoint rearwardly of the pistdn, which would correspond to the piston assembly H in the construction hereinabove shown,

' so that the piston was operatively disposed withor externally to include the delivery holes or conduit leading from the greaseegun or pump.,

In the embodiment of the invention shown-in Figure 6, a check valve l1- similar to that shown.

in Figures 1 and 3 is provided with a valve closing spring 43 held by a cage 63 similar to the cage 44 in Figure 3, but flanged as at 64 for receiving one end of the main spring 4| whereby the cage may be held in place.

In the embodiment of the invention shown in Figure 7, a check valve I1 is inserted from the rear of the housing. In this embodiment the constricted opening 64 in the housing is screwthreaded at its rear-most portion 65, and to thisi screw-threaded portion an apertured screw plug 66 is threadedly secured. The plug 66 has a central opening 61 which opens outwardly into a valve seat 68 against which the check valve I1 is held by the valve closing spring 69. The plug may be notched across the screw thread thereof as at 10 to a slight extent sufficient to permit a slight by pass of lubricant around the check valve l1.

The sealing plunger 22 is preferably reduced at its outer diameter as at H from its outer end to a point slightly short of the rear ends of the jaw members l3. This permits greater freedom of radial movement of the jaws l3 at their outer ends and yet provides a lateral support for the rear ends of the jaw members l3.

The cap member or nose pieces 30 in the several embodiments of the invention may be so fitted to the forward ends of the housings it that the two. screw-threaded portions are brought to a limiting position by the shoulders 12 and I3, or they may be so fitted that their limiting positions will be determined by the shoulders 14 and 15 as indicated particularly in Figure 1.

It will be noted that by the coupler construction hereinabove described, no'fluid seal or gasket is necessary in uniting the body portions of the housing because the fluid under pressure is conin the same member which carried the jaw actuating camor wedging surface at the front end of .the coupler. This necessitated the provision of a good fluid-tight seal between the frontand rear body parts of the coupler, and also required the assembly of the coupler in-sucha way that the jaws were inserted first into the front part of the body and the piston assembly and other related parts inserted thereafter. This is. anawkward assembly operation, particularly for replacements in the field because of the difficulty of holding the three jaws in place against the jaw-actuating wedging surface in the front part of the coupler body while the sealing plunger and piston and spring are assembled in place behind the jaws.

By the coupler construction of the present in-' vention, this awkward assembly operation is entirely eliminated because the jaws can be put in place after all the other operating parts of the coupler have beenassembled. Moreover, they can be put in place without any need for aligning them in relation to the jaw-actuating wedging surface in the nose piece, because the nose piece can be merely superimposed upon'the jaw members after the jaw members have been inserted into the main body portion H] of the coupler. Thus, the nipple-gripping jaws can be removed and replaced by merely unscrewing the cap or nose piece without in any way disturbing the other internal parts-of the coupler such as the piston assembly, the nipple-sealing member or'plunger, the springs or check valve.

In the forms of construction shown in Figure 1, the nipple-gripping jaws are spring-actuated independently of the nipple-sealing plunger durmg the initial clamping operation.

While the different constructional features are shown in different figures of the drawings, it is to be understood that the various constructional features illustrated in the several figures of the drawings may all be interchanged and combined in one coupler, Thus, for instance, the adapter or nozzle construction shown in Figure 2 may be applied to couplers 'of the forms shown in Figures 1, 3, 4, 6 and 7, while the form of spring support plunger construction shown in Figures 2, 3, 5, 6 and 7 may be interchanged. Likewise, any of the by-pass or blecder constructions shown in 7 Figures 3 and 7 may be applied to the forms of construction shown in the other figures of the.

drawings. 1

The springs 32, 33 and 4| are preferably proportioned so that if the cap-like nose piece or front housing member 30 is removed and the springs permitted to expand fully, they will not move the jaws much beyond'the position shown in Figures 1 to 7, so that the basal portions of the jaws will still remain in the rear housing portion It in the manner indicated in Figure 8. In this condition the jaws 13 may be removed and replaced without disturbing the internal mechanism of the coupler. When the jaws have thus been replaced, the cap-like nosevpiece or front housing member 30 is merely screwed back in place the coupler is again ready for use.

In Figure 9 another coupler construction is shown to illustrate one phase of the present invention applicable to conventional hydraulic couplers; namely, the phase of the present invention represented by the two-spring and cage construction, one embodiment of which is shown in Figure 6. In this form of construction, the juncture between the rear and front portions of the main body or housing of the coupler is behind the piston I 2, so that the entire piston assembly I2 as well as the jaw members I3 are held assembled within the front part of the housing. In this modification, the juncture between the two parts of the housing is through the similarly threaded portions 15 and 1.6, and a suitable gasket 'I'I interposed for making fluid-tight seal. The gasket 11 is preferably a soft copper'gasket. In this form of constructiomthe flange 64 of the cage 63 is preferably somewhat larger in. diameter and is held in place by the end 18 of the front housing member which is here designated by the numeral 19 (while the rear housing member is designated by thenumeral 80) In this form of construction, the valve I1 is closed'independentiy by the spring 43, while the sealing plunger 22 is independently urged forwardly by the spring I in the same manner as in the construction shown in Figure 6. v

In Figures 6, 7 and 8, the rear part of the housing is broken away. This broken away portion may, however, be 'of any one of the forms of construction illustrated in Figures 1 to inclusive and in Figure 8.

The present invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential attributes thereof, and it is not restrictive. reference being had to the appended claim rather than to the foregoing description toindicate the scope of the invention.

Having thus described the invention, what is hereby claimed as new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent, is:

A multi-jawed hydraulic chuck type lubricantdelivery coupler for use on lubricant-receiving nipples, including a generally tubular main housing member, and a piston and a nipple-sealing member slidably mounted in said main housing member, a spring urging said piston and nipple-sealing member towards the discharge end of the coupler, a plurality of nipple-gripping jaws surrounding said nipple-sealing member, with a substantial part thereof extending into the aforesaid main housing member and disposed between said main housing member and, said nipple-sealing member, said nipple-gripping jaws having outer in-turned claws extending beyond said main housing member, and a generally tubular cap-like nose-piece superimposed upon the projecting outer in-turned claws of said nipple-gripping jaws, said cap-like nose-piece being screwthreadedly secured to said main housing member to form a rigid though detachable continuation thereof, said cap-like nose-piecehaving an inturned outer camming flange for cammingly entherefore desired that the present embodiments be considered in all respects as illustrative and gaging the in-turned outer claw portions of said nipple-gripping jaws: whereby said nipple-grip:

- ping jaws may be held in assembled relation to each other and to said main housing member and without the need for disturbing the assembled disposition of said piston and nipple-sealing member and spring in relation to said mean housing member and in relation to each other.

. FRANK S. BARKS.

ALEXANDER P. FOX. 

